Starting today, you can get your flu shot for free at the Alamance County Health Department.

The free vaccinations are available on a walk-in basis from 8-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the health department, at 319 N. Graham-Hopedale Road in Burlington. Vaccines are free while supplies last, said Stacie Turpin Saunders, the department’s health education supervisor.

Vaccinations combined with regular hand-washing and covering your cough reduces the risks of coming down with the flu, said Christie Sykes, the health department’s immunization coordinator, in a release.

Flu shots are being offered for free because the N.C. Department of Health “expanded the availability criteria for use of the state-supplied vaccine,” Saunders said.

That increased availability comes after an increase in flu diagnoses and activity nationwide, based on a statement from the Centers for Disease Control. According to a release from the health department, the CDC’s data indicates an early and active flu season.

“Increasing flu activity should be a wake-up call. For anyone who has put off vaccination: It’s time to get your flu vaccine now,” Dr. Melinda Wharton, with the CDC’s NationalCenter for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in the statement.

Since September, the health department has administered 1,250 doses of flu vaccine. In 2011, the health department gave about 1,500 doses during flu season.

For more information, call the health department at 336-227-0101 or visit www.alamance-nc.com.